Domestic Cats on Pitcairn Island Frederick A. Belton and Robert W. Schmieder Cordell Expeditions 4295 Walnut Blvd. Walnut Creek, CA 94596
[email protected] www.cordell.org (925) 934-3735 This document describes the results of a project carried out by Cordell Expeditions, Walnut Creek, California. The authors of this report are: Frederick A. Belton 825 Fitzpatrick Road Nashville TN 37214 (615) 479-1705
[email protected] Robert W. Schmieder 4295 Walnut Blvd. Walnut Creek, CA 94596 (925) 934-3735
[email protected] Information about Cordell Expeditions can be found at: Cordell Expeditions 4295 Walnut Blvd. Walnut Creek, CA 94596
[email protected] http://www.cordell.org Copyright © 2019 Cordell Expeditions This document may be freely distributed by any means, including electronically or in print, so long as the title page and all credits are not removed. However, the material within this document is protected by copyright; you may not reproduce or distribute portions without attribution, and you may not extract images for reproduction or distribution by any means, without attribution to this document, or without the written permission of Cordell Expeditions. Date of this report: 1 March 2019 Page ii Abstract This document presents the results of a study of Felis catus, the domestic cat, on Pitcairn Island. The paper contains three major parts: A comprehensive review of the history of domestic cats on Pitcairn, starting with the introduction of cats to Tahiti in 1767 Results from a field study carried out by the authors in May-June, 2018, using a trail camera, personal observations, and interviews with Pitcairners Analysis of the dynamics of human-cat-rat interactions, with the goal of better understanding and managing the future of cats on the island Major conclusions that emerged from this study include: Cats most likely were introduced to Pitcairn by the Bounty mutineers in 1790 and probably have been present continuously since then.